The 20 Most Memorable Advertisements In TWS: Ad #1

March 19, 2007

The number-one complaint from readers during TransWorld’s twenty years is easy to peg: “Too many ads.” We hear it all day long and, often, we agree. Advertisers are generally a year behind what’s happening on the streets (snow), but now and then-maybe once a year-an advertisement’s timing is just right. Before there was a J2 (Jason Rasmus), there was J1-Jason Gerardi. Originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, Gerardi had taken his Bill Danforth-inspired shredding to the resorts of Colorado by the early 90s. It was during that time that the first generation of snow pros was kicked to the curb. Gerardi, along with a crew of like-minded shreds, ensured that snowboarding’s future would be more flannel than fluorescent. Burton’s “Lucky Strike” ad hit the mark. “A lot of people were just getting out their pastels,” remembers Gerardi. “That was the first really skate-influenced, grungy advertisement.”MarcoNine knee surgeries and a two-year stint on the TransWorld editorial staff later, J1 still rides. He’s also an Oakley sales rep in Wisconsin. For the nineteen ads that weren’t as memorable as this one, get your black-lung, splinter-ass to twsnow.com.